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Seconds after making the game-saving play to send the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl, cornerback Richard Sherman was fired up.

Sherman deflected a pass intended for the San Francisco 49ers’ Michael Crabtree near the corner of the end zone with less than a minute left, right into the arms of Seattle teammate Malcolm Smith to seal the Seahawks’ 23-17 win in the NFC championship game.

Sherman was subsequently whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play for exchanging words with Crabtree and making what appeared to be a choking gesture.

Asked about the incident afterward by Fox reporter Erin Andrews, Sherman stole the show and lit up Twitter with a rant that began: “I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me!”

Sherman didn’t back down later. He apologized to Andrews but proceeded to call Crabtree “mediocre,” making sure to enunciate each syllable of the word.

“I was making sure everybody knew Crabtree was a mediocre receiver,” Sherman said. “And when you try the best corner in the game with a mediocre receiver, that’s what happens.”

Crabtree offered a response:

“Sherman made a good play. That’s probably the only play he made all game,” he said. “I ain’t getting into that; he knows what time it is. When we’re on the field, he ain’t doing nothing. That’s one play. … He’s a TV guy, I’m not a TV guy. I play ball.”

Sherman said his issues with Crabtree go back to something that happened during the offseason but would not go into detail.

“He said something personal, face to face,” Sherman said. “He knows what he said, and he knows I’m going to be tough on him the rest of his career.”

Oddsmakers unsure on Super Bowl favorite

Oddsmakers had trouble picking the favorite in what figures to be one of the most evenly matched — and heavily bet — Super Bowls ever.

Bettors knew who they wanted, though, putting early money on Denver and making the Broncos a slight favorite to beat the Seahawks in most of this city’s legal betting parlors.

Denver was favored by one point at several books in the early betting, and others had the Broncos as high as a three-point pick. The move to the Broncos came after some books initially made the Seahawks as much as a two-point favorite.

“We’re just trying to figure out what the market will be and get a feel of where money will go,” said Jay Kornegay, who runs the LVH sports book and initially had the Seahawks favored. “At this point, it doesn’t take a lot to move the line.”